We Already Had an Agreement.

Let's rewind time to before the Stigmata Space was shattered.

The Stigmata Space created by Hiyori and Yae Sakura is not the same as the normal Stigmata Space. Theoretically, the Stigmata Space is just a product of the data recorded in the Stigmata.

But there is another external force at play here.

That was the Black Box used by the Previous Civilization to seal away the Hiyori.

The Black Box is not simply a seal, but a forge fueled by the passage of time.

Once the hatred within the Herrscher of Corruption is completely eradicated, the twelfth Divine Key, named Jizo Mitama, will be born.

However, due to Hiyori's continued resistance, it was never made into Divine Key before the destruction of the Previous Civilization.

The gift that Rin said she wanted to give to Yae Sakura.

It's Jizo Mitama.

She must erase all hatred from her personality and forge the Divine Key so that her sister can be reborn.

She understood, of course, that Yae Sakura had long been determined to die, but even if her sister might not choose to be resurrected, Rin still hoped that she would have the right to choose.

Moreover, this is a path that must be traversed to prevent myself, as Herrscher, from descending into the outside world.

Her older sister didn't want to see bloodshed, so Rin naturally had to follow her sister's will.

Therefore, it is necessary to kill Hiyori, who appears in the form of Demon Fox spirit, and the aggregate of the Herrscher's pure evil thoughts.

The former was given to Theresa, whose own silver cross possessed enough power to rival the power of Hiyori, Yae Sakura's Golden Cross could also lend her a helping hand at crucial moments.

So one of the difficulties has been resolved, and what remains is the current situation.

Outside the Tenshukaku.

After telling him everything truthfully, Rin collapsed weakly onto the boy's back, as if her life had been cut off.

Just as Su Qing'an was trying to digest the information and make a summary.

Rin's will went to stop Hiyori from devouring Yae Sakura.

After a long while, the girl's consciousness returned from the turbulent Sea of consciousness of the Hiyori. After entrusting the other side to Theresa, she frankly said to Su Qing'an:

"This is the only way for big brother to possibly save sister Theresa."

Even if Theresa kills Hiyori, it doesn't mean the Herrscher of Corruption will die peacefully; the external forces that corrupt her body will continue to erode it.

Just as Rin said, the only way to prevent this from happening is to kill the evil thoughts within the Tenshukaku.

The girl tilted her head back, gazing at the scene before her with a complex expression, and sighed:

"It's also the only way I can save my sister."

Su Qing'an stared in silence at the massive building that had suddenly appeared before her.

This was an ancient and ominous attic. His keen intuition was not a good thing at this time; the fine, needle-like pain stimulated his nerves, frantically warning him of the danger inside and dragging out his fear.

The more acute one's intuition, the clearer the fear that arises from it becomes.

This only happened when Su Qing'an first encountered Ganesha face-to-face.

Humans cannot control the instinctive fear that arises, so courage is simply a strong will to restrain that instinct.

Knowing that what was inside was something he was not capable of dealing with at this moment, Su Qing'an gave his answer:

"I will go, Rin."

"Since entering this world, I have had no other choice."

"Either die here, or take the headmaster away from this world. There is no third option."

Yae Rin carefully jumped off the boy's back, and looked at Su Qing'an with a strange expression.

She said:

"Big brother is scared, isn't he? It's normal to be scared. The person in front of you is Herrscher, but you have to listen to his words and information to make judgments and then choose a path with a slim chance of survival."

"But I know you're scared, so why is big brother so calm? Normal humans aren't like this."

Su Qing'an remained unmoved. The reason why her emotions could be read was easy to understand; in fact, it proved the truth of the other party's statement.

Rin is part of the Herrscher of Corruption, which is why she can see through her own emotional fluctuations through the permission granted by the Stigmata Space.

The boy gave his answer:

"Why did Rin desperately try to kill herself? You must have been terrified too, right?"

"Whether that version of yourself is one you hate or dislike, the reality of killing yourself, and the forced empathy that arises afterward, is something that anyone can imagine without fear."

"But it has to be done. For Miss Yae's sake, Rin can endure suffering that she herself could not have endured before."

"I would be the same in your shoes. Right now, I'm no different from any other ordinary villager in Yae Village. But under these circumstances, I have to face a problem that is far beyond my limits. It's only natural to be afraid."

Su Qing'an spoke earnestly, revealing that he was genuinely afraid, even though he had overcome one difficulty after another, his emotions were still beyond his control.

There's no way to run away from this. In the past, I would have silently recited the Sword Heart Technique at times like this.

Yes, silently reciting the Sword Heart Technique is so good.

I am not afraid of anything, and no emotion can be an obstacle.

Absolute calmness, absolute precision.

But that was just escapism.

Su Qing'an, however, had long since given up on escaping.

He continued speaking, but his tone gradually lost its initial calmness.

"It's just that I have to do it, just like Rin did it for Miss Yae, for her own sister. For me, most of the meaning of living in this world lies behind what's left."

"They're all at the St. Freya Academy."

"I can't imagine the consequences of failure. Sometimes I wonder why things aren't as simple as in games and comics, where the protagonist just has to work hard and get a response, and you can get a reward just by trying."

"Then I suddenly realized I'd been mistaken; this is reality... even if I once treated it like a game, now it's undeniably reality."

Su Qing'an lost control of her emotions.

This young man has always been so calm and composed, his actions always so methodical, and his responses to crises always so decisive and efficient.

His composure, unperturbed even when the sky is falling, is a mask that is difficult to remove.

He didn't seem to care much about life and death.

But now, facing a strange yet familiar spirit, Su Qing'an couldn't help but utter the words hidden in her heart.

Finally, the boy regained his composure.

He said:

"Reality is unreasonable, Rin."

"So if you don't fight with all your might, miracles will never happen."

Yae Rin hugged the boy and whispered:

"Big brother has been working so hard all this time..."

"But don't worry, even though Rin is Herrscher, we made a pinky promise, right?"

"We already made an agreement."

"So how could Rin bear to let her older brother die?"

She released her embrace, looked at the boy's stunned face, and smiled.

"Just as you will protect me, I will protect you."

For some reason, the girl's words that reached his ears gradually began to sound unreal.

A sense of emptiness had already permeated his entire body before anything happened, and in the next instant Yae Rin shattered into a magnificent array of countless rays of light.

A radiant light flowed into the boy's body, and a gentle warmth embraced his entire being.

But an even colder loneliness and a feeling of emptiness overwhelmed everything...